A biased look at psychology in the world

December 23, 2012

Apocalypse Not

Yet another prediction of doom has come and gone without the promised
Earth-shattering kaboom taking place. Many of the same New Agers that
had claimed that the end of the 13th b’ak’tun in the
Mesoamerican Long Count calendar would mark the beginning of a global
catastrophe are now backtracking and saying that it actually marks the
beginning of a new era of peace and love (Age of Aquarius, anyone?)

Though
end-of-the-world cruises and gatherings took place around the world,
one of the chief focal points for the 2012 craze was the small town of Bugarach, France (though it was an honour the city could have done without).
Located at the foot of the Pic de Bugarach, the highest peak in the
Corbieres mountains in southwestern France, the tiny town of Bugarach
has an official population of 200 with an economy based on agriculture. Since the Corbieres mountains are world-renowned for their breathtaking beauty,
Bugarach also had a brisk tourist trade with hikers and backpackers
stopping through while touring the region. Bugarach is not connected
to any of France’s main highways, visitors to Bugarach need to travel
there using narrow, winding roads that often overlook treacherous
ravines below. All in all, not a place likely to attract much of a
tourist crowd.

Except…

Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, Bugarach also
became popular with New Age and counterculture movements who believed
in the “mystical powers” of the Pic de Bugarach (which was also known as
the “upside down mountain” due to its unique geological features).
According to cult believers, the mountain is the home of a hidden colony
of extraterrestrials waiting for the fateful date of December 21, 2012
to make their presence on Earth known. The alien spaceships hidden
in the mountain are believed to be meant as space Arks that would
deliver the faithful to safety in the coming apocalypse.

In the
years leading up to 2012, thousands of “UFOlogists” and other New Agers
have purchased property around Bugarach and offered courses on spiritual
enlightenment to the visiting believers (at 800 euros a week).
Bugarach locals complained about their picturesque town being taken
over by the influx of alien-watchers in the surrounding mountains .
As December 2012 grew closer, that problem grew steadily worse and the
town’s mayor even went so far as to give a public statement pleading
with tourists to stay away.